Will I be Herding Cats Again?* **** COMPLETED *****

[whogirl'smom]

Such a good report! It looked so pretty and relaxing to walk around the Poly beach after your dinner.

Sorry about the scary flight back; I know it was a relief to get home. I hope your family gets to go back and stay at the Poly next year together!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

What a great trip! I would love to organize a family trip to Disney- I think every grandparent should see their grandkids experiencing the magic!

 

[mom2mek]

Such a good report! It looked so pretty and relaxing to walk around the Poly beach after your dinner.

Sorry about the scary flight back; I know it was a relief to get home. I hope your family gets to go back and stay at the Poly next year together!

Thanks for reading it!

What a great trip! I would love to organize a family trip to Disney- I think every grandparent should see their grandkids experiencing the magic!

I totally agree! Very magical!

Sara

 

[Poohtigeey]

Great job Sara! Sorry about the traumatic trip home. It was great reading about your fabulous trip!

 

[mom2mek]

Great job Sara! Sorry about the traumatic trip home. It was great reading about your fabulous trip!

Thanks Monica!

So, anyone want to chime in with some final thoughts....feel free.....


I'll wait....

Seriously, I do hope to wrap this thing up this weekend, so I can move on to the plans for the husband and wife trip in May!

FINAL THOUGHTS.....COMING SOON.....

Sara

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

Thanks Monica!

So, anyone want to chime in with some final thoughts....feel free.....


I'll wait....

Seriously, I do hope to wrap this thing up this weekend, so I can move on to the plans for the husband and wife trip in May!

FINAL THOUGHTS.....COMING SOON.....

Sara

Can't wait This has been a great TR!!!

 

[kaysmommie]

 

[mom2mek]

So, I am a bit of a creature of habit, so I'm taking the same approach as my last report regarding my final thoughts. I am going to write up some final thoughts and insert a few pics along the way in order to thwart boredom! LOL! The pictures will most likely have NOTHING to do with whatever thoughts I am writing, but I’m sticking them in anyway in order to make it more visual!

Deep and Random Thoughts are here!
A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.

I am done! Woo-hoo! I do really enjoy writing trip reports, don’t get me wrong, I just tend to get too long-winded and they end up taking a lot longer than they really should. Writing the report is almost always enjoyable, and doing so really does help prolong the time in between trips to the “World”. I have also found that I tend to remember a lot more about a trip, when I actually sit down to write a report about it, then I would if I were just trying to remember things in conversation and through our pictures. They allow me to relive the moments and give them more permanence in my memory, if that makes sense.

Soooo….how to sum it up? Well, I will start with a big hearty thank you to all of you who read, posted, and/or lurked on this report. Thank you for letting me share, relive, and ramble about our lovely October adventure.

Once again, as is probably pretty common with a lot of us planners, I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to have the “perfect” trip. I lowered my expectations this trip after having made the Thanksgiving trip last year with 16 people and living to tell about it. The smaller group was definitely easier to manage. I would do another large group trip again, without a doubt, but this trip really helped redeem the “planner” within me. Each trip is different, some better than others, but the Disney magic is always there. This trip was filled with lots of magic, lots of pixie dust, and a whole lot of fun!!!

Once again, having TGM was a lifesaver. I have said it before, but I will say it again - I will never go to Disney without TGM. He teaches you HOW to tour the parks. That way, when something goes wrong (and something ALWAYS goes wrong) you know how best to adjust your plans accordingly. That’s what I like the most about it! Well, and the forums….friendly and helpful – just what forums should be!!


So, what did I learn from this escapade? What words of wisdom can I convey to you readers? Well, first I will bore you with a few topics – Weather, Packing, Lodging, Transportation, Crowd Levels, Food, and a few others…

OCTOBER WEATHER
The weather we had was ok. Certainly not as enjoyable as the weather we had in November, that’s for sure. It was a bit soupy on many days, and I was “glistening” way more than I cared to do! LOL! The hair was a big frizz-pot by lunch.

We had A TON of rain that first night at Epcot, but after that, the rain was pretty much non-existent (a quick shower on a couple of days, but nothing that stopped our touring or required us to wear our ponchos other than the Epcot night). We have been to Disney (as adults) in May, November, January, and October, and BY FAR the best weather we had was the November trip! I expected October to be similar – a tad warmer, but with the humidity leveling off by then. Um…..nope. Still very humid – I mean, not JULY humid, but the air was thicker and heavier than I expected. I would do a trip in October again though – without a doubt!

PACKING
Once again, I way over-packed. Happens every time. I thought it might be better this year, considering we were flying, but nope….still brought too much stuff. Having a washer and dryer in the house is really helpful for not packing as much, but I hate doing laundry on vacation. I just do it too much in real life, that I can’t fathom having to do it while on vacation unless absolutely necessary (2006 trip with the stomach flu – it did come in handy though). We still managed to come in under the airline-approved weight limits though, so that’s good! One of these days, I will master the packing.

LODGING
Once again, we loved our offsite house (well this time it was a townhouse) It was roomy, quiet, and way more affordable. Windsor Hills is a gorgeous resort, kids really loved the private splash pool at the house as well as the resort pool, and it was a whopping 1 mile to the Disney sign. We didn’t eat any meals at the house other than breakfast, but having a full kitchen still really came in handy for breakfast, snacks, and late-night treats!

We save a ton of money, and have a ton more space, so it’s all good! We do want to stay onsite at some point, (in fact, as you can tell from my signature, Shawn and I will be staying at the Poly in a few weeks). But with 3 children, it would have to be 2 rooms, a deluxe hotel, or DVC. Plus, I know Shawn would turn into Mr. Grumpy pants really quick in a 300 sq ft hotel room with 3 kids. So for now, we will stick with an offsite house when we travel with the family. If it gets me back to Disney more often due to cost savings, then it’s all good to me!!

TRANSPORTATION
Staying offsite obviously meant we needed a car to go back and forth to the parks. We drove our own vehicle on our Thanksgiving 2007 trip, but this trip we had to rent a car since we flew to Florida. I got a great deal on an 8 passenger minivan and a REALLY great deal on a small vehicle for going to and from the airport, since all 8 of us fit ok in the minivan, but not our luggage! LOL!

We enjoy driving to the parks, and with my AP, we never had to pay for parking. It worked out just fine for us. We were always very close to the front of the lots and never had a problem getting back to Windsor Hills. Having said all that, Shawn and I will not be renting a car on our upcoming trip. Yikes!

CROWDS
Well, take this with a grain of salt, considering that my last trip was over Thanksgiving week, but we thought the crowds over Columbus Day weekend were very manageable. All of our days, with the exception of Saturday at the MK for Katie’s birthday, were pleasantly uncrowded.

I knew, going into it, that Saturday at the MK was going to be bad, for many reasons:

* It was surrounded with party nights the day before (Friday, the 10th), and then again on Monday (Columbus Day – the 13th). So, for those not going to a party, this was an obvious choice for a MK day as it was open much later than party days.

* Saturday is usually rated pretty high for attendance at the MK. Not every Saturday, but on average, it ranks up there with Monday as a popular day for the MK.

* It was a holiday weekend (Columbus Day weekend) and therefore, a tad busier than other October days

* This was a Spectro night – nuff said.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it might be a wee bit more crowded than other days.

I am glad we had other days at the MK to ride rides and that on Saturday we were only there for the BBB and then later, Spectro. The crowds on the other days, although at times definitely present, didn't seem bad at all. I would definitely go back over Columbus Day weekend again.

GROUP SIZE
Obviously, herding around 8 people was a whole lot different than the giant herd of 16 that we went with over Thanksgiving 2007. I’m happy to say that everyone was pretty much pleased with the overall plan and that we were able to accomplish a lot on a not-so-long trip. I was happy that they were happy. But still…it’s good to mention that no matter who you are or how big/small your group is, everyone will always have a different idea of fun. It’s best to get a game plan that works for everyone, and with a large group, it’s best to plan some times apart.

FOOD SERVICE
Overall, we had fabulous meals and terrific service. My favorite restaurant was probably Kona Café and my only complaint would have to be 1900 PF – it just wasn’t that good to me. Shawn’s favorite was probably ‘Ohana. The best free dessert that Katie received for her birthday, had to be, without a doubt, the one from Kona. It was different, and fun.

I don’t think you should force ANY ADR into a crowded day or “dream" any ADR into something that is so special it must be crammed into an already too crowded day. Some things are just better left undone, if the tradeoff is too great. However, I don’t feel we ever had that situation on this trip. I think we had a nice combination of TS meal times, (some lunch, some dinner, one breakfast) and scheduled the days so that the ADRs wouldn’t be too inconvenient. One regret was not sitting and eating a real meal for lunch on our last day. We had a big breakfast at the CP that morning, and we had a fabulous dinner at ‘ohana that night, but in between we just snacked. This probably wasn’t the best plan.

PARK TOURING

Rope Drop – wonderful.
Late nights – wonderful.


Hmmm....don't always work well together though....

I think we had a nice mixture of them this trip. We didn’t follow up a late night with a rope drop and we tried not to stay from park opening to park closing without a mid-day break (although our DHS day came close - technically, there was still an hour and a half of park time when we left. LOL!) No real shocker here – but rope drops make a world of difference, and offer up some nice opportunities that would be hard to come by later on. Not to say that opportunities don’t come up later in the day that maybe you would miss if you were at RD, but I’m just sayin…with small kids, they make a world of difference. I mean, my kids are up in the morning no matter what. I might as well be up and ready to go as well, so that they aren’t getting antsy waiting around to go. I admit that it’s hard to get up early all the time, (I am a self-declared night owl) but I truly believe that rope drops are the way to go on park days where rides, rides, rides are the goal of your kids (which it is for mine)! Yes, it’s my vacation too, but really…isn’t it about the kids? Well, mostly.

We did the following:

Day 1 – RD at Epcot, Lunch at Coral Reef, Mid-day break, Evening in Epcot for Illuminations

Day 2 – Sleep in, swim at the resort, late lunch at Kona, MNSSHP until midnight

Day 3 – Sleep in, swim at the resort, BBB, dinner at 1900 PF, Spectro

Day 4 – RD at DHS, no break, left around 7 (oops, but this park is so hard to plan what with all the shows)

Day 5 – CP for breakfast, MK until 5:00, dinner at ‘Ohana

PLANNING
(I am taking this directly from my last trip report, so if you read that one and this part sounds familiar, well…now you know why!)

Sometimes during the planning stages, our imaginations take over and the vision we create in our head is almost always more perfect than what the reality will end up being. I read someone’s description (forgive me – I don’t remember who said this) of it as “experiencing a Disney vacation in our minds while sitting at our computers, is kind of like reading the book; whereas, experiencing a Disney vacation in person, is kind of like seeing the movie. It’s not disappointing, it’s just that our trips to Disney are usually full of one thing that our Disney imaginations are not – reality.

So I say….Try to plan for some reality. Tired feet, grumpy people, mean guests, not-so-magical CMs…unfortunately, they are all part of “reality”.

I feel like I was better able to keep “reality checking” myself on this trip! And it really helped.

Everything takes time. Breathe in. Breathe out.

MNSSHP:

Wow – what a fun night! It’s a great party, filled with super surprises, lots of spooky characters (and fun ones), and a fabulous parade and fireworks show. I’m so glad we were able to go and I look forward to going back someday soon. I regret that we weren’t able to see the Villains show or the characters in Toontown decked out in their Halloween attire, but overall…I think we did ok regarding the rides and the trick-or-treating. I was very surprised that the kids wore their costumes almost the entire night and that Katie made it all the way to the end. The 2nd parade was nice, but more crowded than I actually thought it would be. Not crowded to the point of not getting a great seat, but I think this was one of those imagination vs. reality moments for me - I just figured it would be way more cleared out by then, and it wasnt.

Side bonus for me…was a very brief and very unexpected meet-up with Nichole (kaysmommie)!

So, to sum it up...Thanks, Walt for this wonderful gift you gave to us. I am truly grateful for all the joy and wonder it brings to my family.


I look forward to the next time I am able to bring the whole group down again to see new things, but also those wonderful familiar details, and I hope to be able to take different groupings of family members down to share this wonderful place with them. I am glad that Shawn and I were able to bring his mom with us this time, and I hope to be able to do it again sometime soon.

Celebrating my little girls 4th birthday in such a wonderful place was so magical, and she remembers so much of the special things that happened. I hope to be able to celebrate my other two children’s birthdays there at some point.

Future plans? Well, in case you didn’t notice….Shawn and I are heading down to Disney in a few weeks to attempt a couple’s only trip and we are staying at the Poly! I can hardly believe it when I say it, as I never, in my wildest dreams, thought we would be able to stay there. HOWEVER, we both have tickets (I have my AP, and Shawn has days left on his Non-Expiring ticket), we won’t have the kids with us which saves us quite a bit of change, plus I got a great deal through tikiman’s website. I haven’t done a whole lot of planning yet for this trip (I guess I’m really getting into a relaxed POLYNESIAN frame of mind, LOL) but I have a feeling I will start a pre-trip soon so that I can get some good advice from all you helpful folks. (I will link to it here, so check back).

So…until next time....See ya real soon!


Thanks for reading my ramblings and for all the nice comments. It was a pleasure.

And one final picture because it cracks me up....

Sara

 

[kaysmommie]

You finished. I bet that is a good feeling. It won't be long until you can start another one . I loved your final thoughts! As always I really enjoyed reading about your trip and thanks for the too. It seemed like you got so much done on this trip even though it was shorter than usual. gives me hope for our shorter trip coming up. Also considering the size of your group this trip went so smoothly and your kids will have great memories with their grandparents at Disney. It would be great if you could bring Michael and Emily on their Bdays too. Hopefully we will find time to meet up in May.

This is my favorite picture of your princesses, so adorable. The one of Katie asleep is so funny too.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Another great report!!! Thanks for sharing your trip and your insight!! Enjoy the POLY- I am dying to stay there one day!!!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Wow Sara - your final thoughts were fabulous! You are the trip writing queen! I'm glad you are so detailed in your reports, helps to keep the magic alive a little longer.

I can't wait to read all about your May plans when you start your PTR!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

I forgot to add that I think you should apply for the Disney Mom's Panel next year - you would be fantastic!

 

[faerieprincess]

Awesome final thoughts, Sara!

(and you finished before me, darn)

i really, really enjoyed your TR! Your kids are beautiful and your trip was a joy to experience vicariously!

Thanks for writing it and bringing us along for the ride!

 

[DisneyJo]

Fantastic ending Sara, I loved your TR and know you will have so much fun at the Poly oh and I agree with Michelle definitely apply for the panel next year

 

[jillyb]

Great summary! That picture of Katie passed out on the couch made me smile.

 

[mom2mek]

You finished. I bet that is a good feeling. It won't be long until you can start another one . I loved your final thoughts! As always I really enjoyed reading about your trip and thanks for the too. It seemed like you got so much done on this trip even though it was shorter than usual. gives me hope for our shorter trip coming up. Also considering the size of your group this trip went so smoothly and your kids will have great memories with their grandparents at Disney. It would be great if you could bring Michael and Emily on their Bdays too. Hopefully we will find time to meet up in May.
]

Thanks Nichole! We did make some fantastic memories, and it's always fun to get home and write all about it to help extend the trip! I hope we are able to meet up in May!!

Another great report!!! Thanks for sharing your trip and your insight!! Enjoy the POLY- I am dying to stay there one day!!!

Thanks! I am really looking forward to the Poly - seriously never thought I would be staying there!

Wow Sara - your final thoughts were fabulous! You are the trip writing queen! I'm glad you are so detailed in your reports, helps to keep the magic alive a little longer.

I can't wait to read all about your May plans when you start your PTR!

Awww...Thanks Michelle! Far from the queen! It took me 6 months to finish a report on a trip that was only 5 days long!!! (And it took me 8 months to finish my last one.....LOL) But I'm glad you like all the details!

I forgot to add that I think you should apply for the Disney Mom's Panel next year - you would be fantastic!

Hmmm...that would be cool, huh? You should too!

Awesome final thoughts, Sara!

(and you finished before me, darn)

i really, really enjoyed your TR! Your kids are beautiful and your trip was a joy to experience vicariously!

Thanks for writing it and bringing us along for the ride!

Woo-hoo! I finished before you! Nanny nanny boo boo! Thanks for reading it, Sare! I am really enjoying yours too, so feel free to drag out your last few installments....

Fantastic ending Sara, I loved your TR and know you will have so much fun at the Poly oh and I agree with Michelle definitely apply for the panel next year

Thanks Jo! It was great to have you along for the ride!

Great summary! That picture of Katie passed out on the couch made me smile.

Thanks for reading Jill! That pic cracks me up too! She didn't move for like 2 hours!!! But then she was raring to go, as opposed to the other two who were totally conked out in the stroller by nighttime!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

One more little thing....

(I was looking back at my notes from my last report, and thought I would put in a list of my magical moments from this trip...hope no one minds)

Geez, do I ever shut up?

Don't answer that!



Magic Moments and Things I’m Just Generally Thankful For:

* Seeing the wonderful autumn and Halloween decorations at the parks – really beautiful

* All of our wonderful character interaction that first morning at the rope inside Epcot, and then being the first family inside Character Connection – what a way to start our trip!

* The wonderful CMs that Michael pin-traded with - always sweet and helpful!

* Chanting "Not in Disney, Not in Disney, Not in Disney.....IN DISNEY" as we passed under the sign every day!! (Thanks Michelle! )

* The Space Invaders margarita at the Sci-Fi Drive In! Delicious!

* Katie’s wonderful birthday cake and white chocolate Minnie Mouse at 1900 Park Fare

* Michael getting to experience the Archery at Ft Wilderness – he still talks about it – it was a true highlight for him

* Katie reaching the "Magical 40" Threshold" and getting to experience Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Soarin, and Test Track for the 1st time

* Michael reaching his magical 48" threshold and getting to ride Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (ToT wasn’t so much a height thing, but a nerve thing)

* All the special birthday wishes to Katie - Disney is second to none at knowing how to make kids feel so special!

* Michael getting picked to ask Crush a question and then asking it when Crush only asked him what his name was! Cute!

* Our great photopass pics from the girls’ experience at the BBB

* Katie’s birthday call from Goofy at the Sci-Fi

* Experiencing one of the best rides in all of Disney – Toy Story Midway Mania - for the first time

* Our diver and personalized menu at Coral Reef – I really surprised Shawn with that one

* Our wonderful and unexpected Anniversary dessert at the Coral Reef!

* Katie dancing the limbo at ‘Ohana

* Listening to the music play and the birds chirp as we walked down an empty Main St before breakfast at the CP

* Pop Pop dancing with Katie on her birthday at 1900 Park Fare when the Prince didn't pick her - truly memorable

* Dodging and weaving around the monsoons at Epcot our first night, and having to eat a French crepe and drink a GGLCS while propping ourselves up against a trash can - it was memorable, that's for sure!

* Our smashing pumpkins shirts for the MNSSHP! Once again Shawn totally rocked out a cool design.

* Katie staying up all the way past midnight at the party and loving every minute of it!

* The nice, Mr. T wanna-be's at DHS serenading Katie with an impromptu birthday song!

* My yummy Lapu Lapu drink at Kona

* Walking around the Poly beach at night and truly falling in love with that resort!

Thanks for indulging me with one more post!

Sara

 

[DisneyJo]

Awww Sara what lovely memories and don't shut up we all enjoy reading what you write

 

[faerieprincess]

NEver shut up! you could drag your TRs out for months and we'd still hang around, reading, waiting, enjoying, smiling...


Oh wait....

Just kidding.

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

Your trip is getting close!!!!